The ICAPP Mission, composed of Hon. Chung Eui-yong, Co-Chairman of the Standing Committee and Secretary General, Hon. Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Special Rapporteur of the Standing Committee and Chairman of the Senate Defense Committee of Pakistan, and Hon. Tekreth Samrach, Secretary of State of the Office of the Council of Ministers and Member of the Central Committee of the Cambodian People’s Party, visited Iran during July 11-13, 2016 at the invitation of the Iran House of Political Parties and the Islamic Motalefeh Party of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The list and the program of the ICAPP Mission to Iran are attached as Appendixes I and II.

The ICAPP Mission had paid courtesy calls on the following political leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran and had discussions on how to further promote cooperation between political parties in Iran and the ICAPP.

-H.E. Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Chairman of the Expediency Council and Former President,

-H.E. Ali Larijani, Speaker of the Parliament,

-Her Excellency Shahindokht Molaverdi, Vice President and Minister for Women and Family Affairs,

-Hon. Hassan Ghafoori Fard, , Chairman of the Iran House of Political Parties,

-Hon. Mohammad Nabi Habibi, Leader of Islamic Motalefeh Party, and

-Hon. Ayatollah Araki, Secretary General of the World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought

They also stressed The ICAPP Mission also had a meeting with Hon. Dr. Morteza Sarmadi, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Iranian Government.

At the meetings, the ICAPP mission expressed their appreciation of the contributions the Iranian political parties have made to the advancement of ICAPP objectives and principles. They particularly thanked for the strong and continuous support of the political leaders of Iran for ICAPP activities. In this regard, they recalled that the 8th Meeting of the ICAPP Standing Committee, which was held in Tehran in November 2007, had greatly contributed to further institutionalization of the ICAPP by taking important decisions, including setting criteria for the eligibility of political parties in the region to participate in ICAPP activities.

The ICAPP Mission welcomed the offer made by the Iran House of Political Parties and the Islamic Motalefeh Party to host the 28th Meeting of the ICAPP Standing Committee and the ICAPP Special Conference on the Silk Road during the first half of 2017. They expressed the hope that these meetings will be most successful and productive. They also suggested that the political parties in Iran consider co-hosting the 10th General Assembly in Tehran during the second half of 2018.

In addition, the ICAPP Mission explained about the ICAPP’s efforts to obtain observer status in the U.N. General Assembly, and requested that the Iranian Government, as one of the signatories to the “Inter-governmental MOU to Provide Assistance for the ICAPP Activities,” co-sponsor the draft resolution to invite the ICAPP as an observer at the 71st session of the U.N. General Assembly. They stressed that granting observer status to the ICAPP in the U.N. will be in the benefit of both organizations by creating synergy through coordination of their activities.

The political leaders of Iran warmly welcomed the ICAPP Mission and extended their congratulations on the ICAPP’s achievements in bringing together all political parties in the region and promoting friendship and understanding among all countries. They also welcomed the ICAPP’s decision to hold its 28th Standing Committee Meeting and the Special Conference on the Silk Road in Tehran early next year and confirmed that they would render all possible assistance to make these events most successful. They also responded positively to the suggestion to consider hosting the 10th General Assembly of the ICAPP in Tehran in 2018 and the request to co-sponsor the draft resolution to invite the ICAPP as an observer in the U.N. General Assembly.

H.E. Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Chairman of the Expediency Council and Former President, briefly introduced the recent political history of Iran after the Islamic Revolution and emphasized the importance of political parties’ role in raising people’s awareness of the need for democracy. In particular, he highly valued the ICAPP’s principle of inclusiveness overcoming different political ideologies, and expressed the hope that the ICAPP will play a more decisive role in world politics, especially in fighting terrorism by raising such people’s awareness.

H.E. Ali Larijani, Speaker of the Parliament, said that Asia would play an increasingly more significant role in the future with its political and economic development and rich cultural heritage, and expressed the hope that the ICAPP would help countries in Asia find their own solutions to the common challenges by broadening the horizon for cooperation and promoting unity among political parties. He also pointed out that terrorism is one of the most serious challenges in the region, and we need to correctly identify both external and internal factors to meet this challenge more effectively and avoid unnecessary conflicts among ourselves.

Her Excellency Shahindokht Molaverdi, Vice President and Minister for Women and Family Affairs, noted that the objectives of the ICAPP have been well defined in its Charter and other documents, and expressed the hope that the ICAPP would achieve its goals through more interaction among all political parties. She mentioned that we should think ourselves as one Asian family and continue to do our best to meet our common challenges. She particularly welcomed the ICAPP’s initiative to strengthen women’s empowerment and said that Iran would continue to support such efforts.

Both Hon. Hassan Ghafoori Fard, Chairman of the Iran House of Political Parties, and Hon. Mohammad Nabi Habibi, Leader of Islamic Motalefeh Party, confirmed their offer to host the 28th Meeting of the ICAPP Standing Committee and Special Conference on the Silk Road during the first half of 2017, and said that they would submit more concrete proposals on these two events at the 27th Standing Committee Meeting to be held in Kuala Lumpur in September. They also welcomed the suggestion to host the 10th General Assembly of the ICAPP in Tehran during the second half of 2018, and said they would have internal discussions on the logistics of the event and make the announcement at an appropriate occasion.

At the meeting with Hon. Dr. Morteza Sarmadi, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, the ICAPP Mission briefed the results of the recent visit by the ICAPP Mission to the U.N., including its meeting with Ambassador Gholam Hossein Dehghani, DPR of Iran to the U.N., and requested the Iranian Government to co-sponsor the draft resolution to invite the ICAPP as an observer to the U.N. General Assembly at the forthcoming 71st session of the U.N.

Vice Minister Sarmadi mentioned that Asia deserves a more special place in international organizations as the largest continent and the cradle of civilization, but all of its potential has not been fully represented. He was pleased to note that both the governmental organizations and political parties in the region are now working together to demonstrate the world Asia’s solidarity by combining political, economic, cultural and people-to-people initiatives. In this regard, he said that the Iranian government is fully supportive of ICAPP activities. He also said that there would be no problem, in principle, for the Iranian Government to co-sponsor the draft resolution, and would instruct the U.N. division to favorably consider the ICAPP’s request.

Appendixes:
1. List of the ICAPP Mission
2. Program of the ICAPP Mission